Imagine yourself walking through the jungles of Mexico in about 300
BC. You see light ahead. You stumble into a clearing, the trees obviously having much
earlier been chopped down by someone. You hear voices. You look right, left. Still you see
nothing. Then to your surprise, there are people all around, just looking at you from
behind structures. Little known to you, you have entered the ancient Aztec city of
Teotihuacan.

Teotihuacan was a city from
long ago, about 400 BC to 750 AD. It lies about twenty-five miles northeast of present-day
Mexico City. The city was a very beautiful city (and still is), with the glory of all of
its pyramids and temples. Of these pyramids, there were three main ones that caught the
eye.

Pyramid of the Sun: This gigantic
structure was built between 100 AD and 150 AD, and then rebuilt fifty to seventy-five
years later. It dwarfs all surrounding structures, even though it was once taller. Here
are its dimensions:

210 feet tall 738 feet across one side of the base Even
though it was once 249 feet tall when it had a temple on top, it is still the third
largest pyramid in the world.

How the Pyramid of the Sun was built: It
consisted of a series of platforms that gradually got smaller closer to the top. Then it
was carefully covered with plaster. Archeologists think that it was then painted red and
white. The people of Teotihuacan believed caves to be sacred, For this reason, the
Pyramid of the Sun was built over one, so it would be a holy place.

Pyramid of the
Moon: This structure was the first large structure built in Teotihuacan. More
specifically, it was built in the Cerro Gordo Hills. It was built in the first century AD,
then,like the Pyramid of the Sun, rebuilt fifty to seventy-five years later. Then, in
between 150 AD and 225 AD, it was enlarged to the size that it is today.Here are its
demensions:

138 feet tall

492 feet across one side of the base

Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent:This is
the smallest of the pyramids in Teotihuacan, but one of the most ravishing. It was
ordered to be built in 150 AD by the ruler of that time. The pyramid was covered with huge
serpent heads, each weighing over four tons each. The feathered serpent in Teotihuacan was
a symbol of rulership, which explains why archeologists think that the ruler who ordered
this pyramids building is buried inside.

The temples in Teotihuacan were built in
the talud tablero (tu-LOOD,tu-BLAR-o) style. This style was made by placing a large
platform down, and on top of that a platform was one that was sloped inward at about a
forty-five degree angle. Then a flat one, then a sloped one. It ends up looking something
like a pyramid. They got all the stone for it from nearby quarries. They got the stone to
the cities by using ropes and wooden rollers. This style of building was invented by the
people of Teotihuacan. When the building was finished, it was covered with smooth plaster
(ground up remains of burnt limestone into a fine powder, mixed with sand and water) and
then painted. The outside of the buildings were sometimes brightly painted with animals,
both real and imaginary. The paint color represented different things. Red represented
blood and eternal life. Black represented shadows of the underworld. The rest of the paint
depended on what they wanted it to be. The paint was made from natural dyes put directly
on to wet plaster.

The houses in Teotihuacan were made from
wood and adobe (sun-dried mixture of clay and straw). The walls and base of the houses
were made of concrete (crushed limestone with dirt and water). They used logs to build the
roofs and to strengthen the walls and foundations.

It is amazing these ancient Aztecs made
as many glorious buildings as they did, because they did not use the wheel or beasts of
burden. They didnt use the wheel because they had no animals to pull it. They used
stone tools.

Religion was very important to the people
of Teotihuacan, and it was practiced virtually everywhere. They were polytheists, meaning
they believed in more than one god. Here are a few of the gods:

Storm God:His name was Tlaloc, and he was
the second most important god in Teotihuacan. He was the god of storms, lightning,
thunder, and rain. It was believed that he lived in the clouds. The people thought he made
lightning by striking a spear to a jar. That was also the jar that they thought he poured
rain from. He is character ized in several different ways. As a cloud, he represents
rainwater. As a jaguar, he represents thunder, because of the jaguars roar. As a snake, he
represents fertility.

Old God: This god is usually shown with a brazier on his
back, in which to burn incense.

Fat God and God of Spring: They both represent fertility,
but the God of Spring is believed to be able to go into the skin of any person.

The major goddess was Chalcheutlicue, one
always shown with nature, lakes, rivers, fertility, and caves. She is always seen facing
forward, but her face is hidden.

The oldest ceremonial center was in the
Cuicuilo(kwee-KWIL-ko). It has a huge circular stone base, 500 feet across the diameter.
Around 200 BC, it was destroyed by an erupting volcano.

The central belief in Teotihuacan was
that that was where the world was created and time began. More specifically, they thought
it began in a cave in the city, because they believed that caves were sacred.

A main landmark in Teotihuacan
is the Avenue of the Dead. It is about one hundred thirty-one feet wide. Long ago during
the time of Teotihuacan, it was probably three miles long. Now only about 1.4 miles of it
are recognizable. It starts directly in front of the Pyramid of the Moon, and most of
Teotihuacans important structures are around it. It was named when Aztecs of a later
time walked the road and saw the buildings on the side and thought that they looked like
tombstones.

At one point, the people of Teotihuacan
built a canal for the San Juan River so that it intersects the Avenue of the Dead at a
ninety degree angle.

One place in Teotihuacan, just west of
the Avenue of the Dead, is a place called the Great Compound. It was probably once a
marketplace with administrative offices. Teotihuacan was not only a city of religion, but
a city of trade and polotics.

The goods that the people of Teotihuacan
traded were: obsidian, ceramics, cloths, and cloth made from a plant called maguey.

SOME
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT TEOTIHUACAN

The Avenue of the Dead and two other roads divide Teotihuacan
into four sections.

Teotihuacan was just a small settlement around 400 BC, but
was an importanat city around 750 BC.

Its population once got up to around two hundred thousand.

It is twenty-five miles northeast of present day Mexico City.

Moon and Sun Pyramids: They both once had a temple on top.
They both were probably once dedicated to the great goddess. They also might hold the
tombs of the early leaders of Teotihuacan.

Only the priests were allowed to climb the steps of the
pyramids for rituals and ceremonies.